The Mariners’ 2010 season did not progress as expected this year. All of the preseason hype of the Mariners’ chance at a division title was quickly snuffed out after a stagnant offense presented itself in early April. Couple that with managerial problems and lack of control of the team, and their season was set up for failure.
Seattle's season looked promising with some key off-season acquisitions, including perennial all-star third baseman Chone Figgins, and starting pitcher Cliff Lee. Figgins had a dismal year, batting .250, 48 points below his 2009 season average. Lee sparkled during his time with the Mariners, and closed out his Mariners career with 5 straight complete games before being shipped to the Texas Rangers via trade in July.
Their great pitching and lack of run support became a theme over the year. The team ended up last in every offensive category. Their offense lacked power, and they barely scrapped together 3.17 runs per game. This lack of offense devastated the incredible pitching performances by ace Felix Hernández, Jason Vargas, and Doug Fister. On the bright side, Ichiro reached the 200 hit mark for his tenth season in a row, setting the Major League record with the most consecutive seasons of 200 or more hits.
On the coaching side, Don Wakamatsu managed the team poorly. There were too many episodes, whether it be the sleep-gate situation with Griffey, trying to handle Milton Bradley, the fight between Figgins and Wakamatsu, or general a lack of control throughout the clubhouse. These questionable managerial decisions and mishaps led to Wakamatsu’s eventual release from the team.
The Mariners’ season ended up a disaster, due to the lack of offense and a lack of control over the team. Looking back at this team and this season, there is way too much that went wrong to pin it on a single person. In other words, everything that could have gone wrong went wrong, and the outcome of the season could be seen since April.
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